Tier 4 Student visa: outside the UK

If you have accepted an unconditional offer to study a course at the university, or you have already started a course and need to apply for a Tier 4 student visa from outside of the UK, please read the step-by-step guidance below.

1. OBTAIN OR REQUEST YOUR CONFIRMATION OF ACCEPTANCE OF STUDIES (CAS)

If you’re an applicant and have accepted an unconditional offer to start a course

If you are an applicant coming to study a new course at the university, we are unable to issue you with a Confirmation of Acceptance of Studies (CAS), which you need to make the visa application, until you have paid the tuition fee deposit, or provided evidence of official financial sponsorship, and returned a fully completed Visa Questionnaire form.

If you or your parents are paying for your studies i.e. you are self-funding, you will need to pay the £2,500 tuition fee deposit. You can pay your tuition fee deposit here. If your government or international sponsorship agency is paying for your studies i.e. you are in receipt of official financial sponsorship, you will need to provide written evidence to the university that your government, or international agency will pay for your tuition fees.

You need to complete and submit an online CAS Questionnaire form which you can access through your Applicant Central account, in the Visa Information section, once your offer is made unconditional. Provided that you have fully completed the CAS Questionnaire; provided the required documents; paid the tuition fee deposit or provided evidence of official sponsorship; and met the immigration rules relating to ‘academic progression’ and ‘time limits on study in the UK’ – the university will issue you with a CAS number. Your CAS Statement which includes the CAS number will be sent to you by email.

If you’re already a student and need to complete the course you have already started

If you are a current student and you need to make a Tier 4 Student application to complete your course, you will need to request a CAS from the university. In order to do this you must fully complete the student immigration Tier 4 sponsorship form (pdf).

When you have completed the form you must take it along with your passport to one of the Academic Services offices or the Visa Compliance Team in Watts Building.Once the Student Visa Compliance team receives your fully completed form it will aim to make a decision on your request for a CAS within approximately ten working days.

If your request is successful, i.e. as long as you meet the immigration rules relating to ‘academic progression’ and ‘time limits on study in the UK’, and you are not in debt to the university, it will send your CAS Statement including the CAS number to you by email.

2. OBTAIN AN ACADEMIC TECHNOLOGY APPROVAL SCHEME (ATAS) CERTIFICATE IF YOU NEED ONE

An ATAS certificate is a security clearance issued by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) to students who wish to study certain courses in the UK.

You will need to obtain an ATAS certificate every time you make a Tier 4 Student application if you are studying, or going to study, a course which is designated as requiring an ATAS certificate and provide it with your visa application. These ATAS required courses are mainly PhDs and MRes, but there are a few Master’s degrees which require an ATAS certificate too.

Your offer letter will tell you whether you require an ATAS certificate or not, and this will also be confirmed on the CAS. If you are not sure whether you require an ATAS certificate please see the guidance, or contact us using the online visa enquiry form.

If you require an ATAS certificate you can apply for one here. It can take the FCO up to 6 weeks to issue an ATAS certificate and so you must make your ATAS application in plenty of time.

3. Obtain a tuberculosis (TB) clearance certificate if you need one

If you are resident in one of the countries listed here you will need to obtain a certificate confirming you are free from tuberculosis before you can apply for your Tier 4 Student visa. You will need to provide the TB certificate with your visa application. Select your country to find out where you need to take your TB test.

Please note that if you have been living in the UK for at least six months and have returned to your country to make a new visa application, and you left the UK less than six months ago, you will not need a TB certificate even if your country is on the required list.

4. MAKE YOUR TIER 4 STUDENT VISA APPLICATION IN PLENTY OF TIME

You must allow enough time from when you apply for the Tier 4 Student visa i.e. you complete the online application form and pay the application fee to when you need to travel to the UK.

Although UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) states that it will process most Tier 4 Student applications made outside of the UK within 15 working days, it often takes longer than this for the whole application process i.e. from when you apply online to when you receive your documents back from UKVI.

If there will be less than four weeks from the date of your application to the date you intend to travel to the UK or the start date of the course you must use the ‘Priority Service’ (if available in your country) and pay the additional fee. The Priority Service normally means that a decision will be made on your application within 5 working days.

You must not, however, make your application more than three months before the start date of your course, if you are applying for a new course, before you are issued with a CAS, or before you meet the requirements of the application e.g. before you have held the required funds for 28 days.

5. CALCULATE HOW MUCH MONEY YOU WILL NEED TO HAVE IN ORDER TO OBTAIN THE VISA KNOWN AS ‘THE MAINTENANCE REQUIREMENT’

If you will receive official financial sponsorship from your government, or an international sponsorship agency

If your sponsorship covers all of your tuition fees and living costs (i.e. at least £1,015 per month of your course) please skip the rest of this section and go to section 7. If, however, your official financial sponsorship does not cover all of your tuition fees, or all of your living costs (i.e. less than £1,015 per month), then you will need to cover the shortfall with your own funds as below.

If you, or your parents, will pay for your studies i.e. you are self-funding

You will need to prove to UKVI that you have an amount of money, which is equal to at least the sum of your outstanding tuition fees plus £1,015 per month of your course for your living costs up to a maximum of £9,135. For example, if your tuition fees are £15,000 and your course is for three years you will need to have at least £24,135 (15,000 for fees plus 9,135 for living costs) in your name, or a parent’s name, in order to meet the maintenance requirement of the visa.

If your funds are held in a currency other than pounds sterling (GBP)

You need to use the OANDA website to convert them into pounds sterling (GBP). UKVI uses the exchange rate on the date of your visa application to determine the amount of funds. You need to consider this if your currency is fluctuating against sterling at the time of your application. If this is the case it is safer to hold more money than is required to guard against a possible depreciation of your currency against the pound at the time of your application.

If you have already paid money to the university for your tuition fees or halls of residence

You can deduct any tuition fees, including your tuition fee deposit, you have already paid to the university before you make the visa application from the amount of money you require. E.g. in the example above if your tuition fees are £15,000 per year and you have already paid the tuition fee deposit of £2,500 then you will need to have at least £21,635 (12,500 for fees plus 9,135 for living costs).

Payments made to the university before the date of the visa application

Payments for university halls of residence but not privately rented accommodation can also be reduced from the total amount you need to show for your maintenance but only up to a maximum of £1,265. E.g. even if you have paid £4,000 towards your halls of residence you can only reduce the living costs you require by £1,265 from £9,135 to £7,870.

Any payments for tuition fees or halls of residence made before the date of the visa application must be shown on your CAS as otherwise they will not be considered by UKVI unless you provide an official original receipt of the payment issued by the university.

Please note that although the university does accept payment of tuition fees by instalments, UKVI requires the balance of the fees that you owe to be shown in your account, regardless of any arrangements you make with the university to pay fees in instalments.

Applying with your dependants?

If you are also applying for your dependants to join you in the UK during your course the amount of money you will require is much higher. Please see section 12.

6. KEEP THE MONEY FOR THE REQUIRED LENGTH OF TIME AND IN THE CORRECT FORMAT

In addition to having enough money in you, or a parent’s name, you will also have to:

1. Have held the required amount of money for at least 28 consecutive days before the date of the visa application, and

2. Have held the required amount of money on every day of the 28 day period i.e. you cannot have less than the required amount of money even for just one day during the 28 days, and

3. The end date of the 28 day period i.e. the date of the bank statement must be no more than 31 days before the date of the visa application.

4. Still have the required amount of money on the date of the visa application, and

5. Hold the money in bank accounts in cash funds or savings, which are available to you i.e. you cannot rely on money held in shares, bonds, dividends or other investments.

6. Hold the money in personal bank accounts. Please note that business accounts, even if you, or your parent, are the sole owner of the enterprise, are not acceptable.

7. If your funds are in a bank in a country listed here you will have to hold the funds in a bank or financial institution, which UKVI deems to satisfactorily verify its statements.

Loans

If you are relying on a loan to meet the maintenance requirement, you must have a loan which is provided by your national, state or regional government, by a government sponsored student loan company, or an official educational/academic loan scheme.

Important: the date of your visa application

Please note that the date of your Tier 4 Student entry clearance application is the date that you pay the application fee. This is usually different to the date you provide your documents and biometrics at the Visa Application Centre (VAC) and is important when calculating the 28 days maintenance requirement.

If you’re not sure how much money you are required to have or in what format to hold it, please contact us using the online visa enquiry form.

7. COLLECT THE REQUIRED DOCUMENTS AND MAKE SURE THEY ARE IN THE CORRECT FORMAT

You must provide the original versions of the documents below with your application.

Photocopies or scanned copies of the documents are not accepted. If you provide a document that is not in English you must also provide a fully certified translation of the document, which has been translated by a professional translator.

1. Proof that you have sufficient money for the maintenance requirement in the form of either *:

Your bank statements; or

Your parent's bank statements; or

An official loan letter from your government or academic loan scheme; or

An official letter of financial sponsorship from your government, or an international agency, confirming its financial support of you and its consent to you making the visa application.

Please note that the content and format of the financial documents you provide with your application must meet the exact requirements as set out by UKVI in its Tier 4 Student Policy Guidance. Failure to do so will mean that your application will be refused.

If you are using bank statements, or a loan, to meet the maintenance requirement, you should see the section in the guidance called, ‘Documents needed to show money available to you’. If you are sponsored by your government, or international agency, you should see the section in the guidance called ‘Documents need to show official financial sponsorship or government sponsorship'.

2. The certificates or transcripts of your educational qualifications which are listed on your CAS, including English language test certificate (if listed) *

You must provide the original certificates or transcripts. The only exception to this is if you applied for your Bachelor’s degree using UCAS and the qualification listed on your CAS was issued by a UK awarding body for a course that you have studied in the UK. In this case you can provide a copy of your transcript of the UK qualification.

3. Your current passport and all of your previous available passports

4. One passport-sized colour photograph

5. Fully completed and printed Tier 4 General application form

6. Your UK Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) (only if you have one because you have already been resident in the UK and were issued with a BRP)

7. Your birth certificate (only if you are using your parent’s bank statement)*

8. A letter of consent from your parents to you using their money in the UK for your education (only if you are using your parents’ bank statement)*

9. An ATAS clearance certificate (only if you are required to have one)

10. A TB clearance certificate (only if you are required to have one)

11. If you are aged under 18 at the date of application: a letter of consent from your parents confirming their relationship to you and their consent to your travel to and living arrangements in the UK and your birth certificate.

Different Documentary Requirements (Low-Risk Nationals)

If you are a national of one of the countries listed below, you do not have to provide your educational qualifications or financial documents with your Tier 4 application i.e. the documents marked in the list above with an asterisk *.

However, you must still meet the requirements of the immigration rules for the application i.e. have sufficient money for the required time and collect all of the documents as the UKVI can request that you provide the documents at a later stage before it will decide your application.

Please note that you must answer the question in the Tier 4 application form, which asks whether you wish to apply under the differentiation arrangements, correctly. If you are a national of one of the countries above you must answer ‘Yes’ to this question as otherwise you will not benefit from this arrangement and you will have to provide all of the documents with your application, including your financial and educational documents.

If you are not sure whether you need to provide a document with your application, or whether a document you have contains the correct information and is in the required format, please contact us using the online visa enquiry form.

8. COMPLETE THE VISA APPLICATION FORM

You should complete the visa application form online. You should select 'Tier 4 (General) Student visa', unless you are in receipt of a scholarship from the UK Government.

You must complete the form in English and complete all of the sections in full. If somebody else completes the form for you, such as an agent, you must make sure you are aware of the contents of the form before you submit it.

You must answer all of the questions truthfully, because if you give false information your application will be refused and you can risk being banned from being granted a visa to the UK for up to 10 years. You should use the information on your CAS Statement to answer the relevant questions.

The Tier 4 Student visa application fee is £348 usually payable in the local currency or USD equivalent. If you do not have enough time to make a standard application i.e. there are less than four weeks to the start of your course or your intended travel date, you will have to use the Priority Service (if available) and pay the additional fee.

You are also required to pay an Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) which will allow you to access NHS healthcare in the UK free of charge. You will need to make this payment after you pay the visa application fee. You must make the IHS payment, even if you have private health insurance, or don’t plan to use the NHS services while you are in the UK.

The IHS charge for Tier 4 students and their dependants is £150 per person for each year you will be in the UK, and £75 for each part of a year less than six months (any period over six months will be charged at the full yearly rate). You can check how much your IHS will be using the UKVI’s IHS calculator.

10. SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION

In order to complete your application you will need to make an appointment at a Visa Application Centre (VAC). At your appointment you will need to provide your biometric information, that is your fingerprints and a digital photograph, and submit your printed application form and supporting documents.

After attending your appointment you may then receive an email from UKVI asking you to attend an interview in relation to your visa application. You must attend this interview as otherwise your application will be refused. At the interview you will be asked about why you want to study your course, and the reasons why you chose to study at the university. You will then need to wait for the UKVI to process your application and return your documents. You can check the latest processing times in your country here.

11. UKVI'S DECISION ON YOUR APPLICATION

If your application is successful the UKVI will place a 30 day entry-permit in your passport. The 30 day entry-permit is valid from 30 days before the course start date on your CAS, or seven days before the date that you specified on your application as your intended date of travel to the UK, whichever is later. You must travel to the UK during the validity of the 30 day entry permit. If you cannot you will need to make an application for a new one.

UKVI will also provide you with a letter which will confirm the validity of your Tier 4 visa and the name and address of the Post Office in the UK where you will need to collect your ‘Biometric Residence Permit (BRP)’ and the date is will be available. You will need to take the letter to collect your BRP from the Post Office within 10 days of your arrival in the UK.

If UKVI refuses your application, it will provide you with a Refusal Notice, which explains the reasons why. Please send a scanned copy of every page of the Refusal Notice to visas@brighton.ac.uk including your name and student number. The advisers will assess the reasons for refusal and contact you as soon as possible to advise you on your options. Please also send a copy of your Refusal Notice to the Student Visa Compliance team: casenquiries@brighton.ac.uk as they must have a record of the decision.

Please note that you can only use a CAS once, so if your application is refused and you are able to make another application, you will need a new CAS number.

12. IF YOUR DEPENDANTS ARE APPLYING TO COME TO THE UK WITH YOU

Not all students can bring their dependants - wife or husband and children - with them to the UK. You should read the information at the links below to find out whether your dependants can come with you to the UK during your course and, if so, the requirements they will need to meet to obtain the PBS Dependant visa.

If your wife or husband and/or children are able to come to the UK with you, they will each have to apply for PBS Dependant visas. They will each have to apply online and pay the application fee. The maintenance requirement – the amount of money you will need to show you have - will be much higher so you need to make sure this money is available.

If you are not sure whether you can bring your dependants with you to the UK, or you would like further advice about the requirements and how to apply, please complete the online visa enquiry form.

13. FURTHER INFORMATION AND ADVICE

This guidance only covers the main aspects of making a Tier 4 Student entry clearance application. If you want to make a successful application it is important that you, or a parent, read and understand the documents and web pages below. In our experience, Tier 4 Student applications are most commonly refused because the applicants do not read or understand the guidance and therefore do not have sufficient funds for the required amount of time, or do not provide the correct documents with their applications.

If having read this guidance, and the documents above, you have a question about making a Tier 4 Student entry clearance application then please contact us using the visa enquiry form.

This guidance is for the sole use of University of Brighton applicants and students. It is a guide only and must be used in conjunction with UKVI’s Tier 4 Policy Guidance and all other webpages it makes reference to. The information in this guidance is given in good faith and has been carefully checked. However, the University of Brighton accepts no legal responsibility for its accuracy.